Soulmates
by Panic1AtTheHere
Summary: It’s the time that the clocks have been ticking down to. Kai and Nya have to find their soulmates tonight, and they just might make some friends along the way. Crappy one-shot.


**My spin on the (seemingly) popular Soulmate AU. I'm going to try to include all of the ninja in this, and the main side characters, but no promises at the moment. **

_At the Royal Palace, New Ninjago City_

The King and Queen haven't been seen by public eye for a few years now, but the time to be known has finally arrived. Today is the day that their children and heirs to the throne will find their own soulmates. The clocks have been ticking down to this very day, and the royal family are all feeling mixed emotions, some feeling excited, others worried, some confused, others ecstatic. The Queen and Princess are in the latter's room, preparing her for what is coming. The Queen has just finished personally applying the girl's makeup when the King and Prince knock on the door. The Queen grants them entry, and they both walk in. The Princess glances over to her left to look at her brother, and the two make eye-contact. They both blink once before she breaks the contact, looking away again. Their times are merely twenty minutes apart, so both must be ready for the big night. Before long, all four members of the Royal family leave the room and make their way to the main hall.

_Outside the Royal Palace, New Ninjago City_

Jay and Cole stand together outside the palace gates. Jay's foot taps nervously against the pavement, and Cole glances at his friend. Jay blushes slightly and stops. Cole clears his throat.

"How much longer do you think there's gonna be until we're allowed in?" he asks. As if on cue, the gates open, and the crowd pushes in to the Palace gardens at the wave of the servants at the doors. Both boys are stopped when they reach the front, and Jay's heart skips a beat when the guard in front of him asks for his name. Mentally telling himself to calm down, Jay states his name and shows the guard the clock on his right wrist, mimicking what he had seen Cole do moments before. The guard nods Jay inside, and the boy breathes a deep sigh of relief. Jay and Cole wait against one of the walls in the main hall, and Jay's foot-tapping begins again. He bites his lip, and Cole nibbles on a small brownie he plucked from a table mere seconds ago. Both bachelors scan the people in the room even as more individuals enter. Before long, the entire room is full, though there is still no sign of the Royal family. There are only forty minutes until the boys find their soulmates when a trumpet sounds and the doors open, revealing a tall man wearing deep red and a slightly shorter woman, dressed in deep blue. The man gazes down at the woman, who nods, and the two step forward together. Their eyes look at the same point in the room, their steps are in sync, and Jay wonders if their very heartbeats match each other too. The man clears his throat, and his voice echoes around the hall as he speaks.

"Citizens of Ninjago. On behalf of the Royal family, we wish to thank you for attending this party tonight." His voice is clear and booms out over the crowd, even without a microphone. The man speaks for a few more minutes before he and the woman step aside.

"We present to you," the woman gives the last part of the speech, "the Royal family!" The last part is met with claps and cheers, as the King and Queen step forward. The King is tall, with dark brown hair slicked back. His eyes are hard and his expression can not be read from Jay's perspective. His robes are maroon, and his skin is dark. The woman's hair is black, and tumbles down her back like a wave. Her kimono is deep blue, and gives her a welcoming aura. The top of her head is just above her husband's shoulder. The two have crowns resting on their heads, the King's covered with rubies while the Queen's has sapphires organised on it. Following the lead of every other male in the room, Jay and Cole bow to the couple, while the girls in the hall curtsy. Once every pair of eyes are fixed on them again, the King and Queen take one more step and the King raises his arms.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he calls, "it is our honour to have you all here on this special evening. All of you in this hall at his time have one thing in common, which is the date and hour of finding your soulmates. Tonight, this blessed evening, our children will find their own, and we look forward to seeing who will be the ones for our heirs." The King smiles, and the Queen copies him before raising her own voice.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you, the reason for this gathering tonight, Prince Kai and Princess Nya!" Again, there are rounds of applause and cheers break out across the room, soon to be joined by gasps as the two children step up to their parents. Jay's eyes widen and his mouth drops as he watches the two come forward, his eyes lingering on the Princess. Nya's hair is just as dark as her mother's, but has been cut short and hangs around her head in a bob. A small section of this bob has been pulled forward, and now sits over her right eye. This section has been coloured, and shifts from lilac to a blue which is only slightly darker than her dress. Her lips are full and have been painted a light pink. A cloak of midnight blue covers the back of her dress and her shoulders. Jay catches himself staring at her and shifts his gaze to Prince Kai. The Prince's hair is brown, like his father's, and has been gelled into spikes. His body is covered in scarlet robes. Once again, everyone bows or curtsies to show respect to the two children who will, one day, inherit the titles of their parents. The two kids smile gently. The King pulls them both into a huddle with himself and the Queen, and the rest of the room starts to whisper. Jay and Cole turn to face each other and, together, whisper one word which they both feel sums up the entire Royal family.

"Woah."

_In "the Royal Huddle", the Royal Palace Main Hall_

King Ray and Queen Maya whisper words of encouragement to their two heirs, and Nya steels herself as she walks towards the top of the staircase that's closer to her. Kai moves to stand at the top of the other one. Nervously, Nya holds her right hand in her left, trying to hide her fear. She has so many questions, but no time to ask them - she must descend the stairs and mingle with the crowd below to find her soulmate. She has mere seconds before she must head down, and she looks over her right shoulder to make eye-contact with her parents. Queen Maya nods to her and smiles, but Nya can not return the gesture. Blinking, she shifts her gaze over to Kai, who subtly gives her the thumbs-up sign. Nya takes a deep breath and snaps her eyes back to the blank space in front of her. She sees the window that separates her from the outside world of New Ninjago City, she sees the crowd gathered here for her, she sees more people in this one room than she thought she would ever see in her entire life, and yet she doesn't see how she will find the one for her tonight. She gulps as she takes the first step. Immediately, many faces turn to look at her as she descends, and Nya can feel herself blush. Maybe if she just keeps walking, she can soon wake up and find it is all nothing but a dream...

She reaches the bottom of the staircase. The second her foot touches the floor, the world seems to turn upside-down and inside-out. What if her clock is wrong and she doesn't find her soulmate? What if her time runs out and she's just standing all alone? What if her soulmate is the wrong one for her? Many questions fill her head, and seemingly hundreds of people swarm around her like bees around a hive. She feels herself heating up, and the world spins. It's all too much. Nya pushes back through the crowd, collapsing on the bottom step of the staircase she had descended mere minutes ago.

_Atop the staircase_

Kai leans forward to sprint down to his sister, to comfort her, but King Ray steps into his son's way, blocking him from reaching the top step of the left staircase. Kai tries to slip past his father, but Ray holds him back.

"Why can't I go down there?" Kai exclaims. "She's worried, she needs my help. Why are you holding me back?!" Ray hushes the boy.

"You can not go down to Nya." he explains. "If you go down there, your time might be played around with. You could distort your sister's time or even your own. It it not your time to go down there, but when it is, you will." Ray smiles comfortingly, and Kai bows his head. "I'm sure this is what will lure her soulmate in." Ray continues, as a boy approaches Nya, unseen by the rest of the room.

_At the bottom of the stairs_

Jay breathes deeply and quickly. The Princess is just inches in front of him. He needs to see if she's okay. His feet are out of control, and pull him towards her, leaving him clueless as to what he is to say to her when he reaches her side. He decides to just wing it.

"Your Majesty?" Nya hears a soft voice above her head, and she gasps. "Are you okay?" Nodding, she replies, "Yes. I'm okay. Thank you." She is about to stand when she notices her left wrist. Her clock has reached zero. She gasps again, and hers is echoed by another. The boy next to her. Slowly, anxiously, Nya looks up, brushing her hair out of her eye. As she sees the boy looming over her, she blushes. He's the one. Her lips separate from each other, and she sees his have done the same. His left hand reaches out to her, and she takes it with her right. He pulls her up to her feet, and they look at each other properly.

One person sees a girl with straight, short black hair that hangs in a bob around her head. Her eyes are dark brown, matching the colour of the brownie a friend had eaten not even an hour ago. Her eyes are surrounded by dark blue eyeshadow, and her lips are light pink. Black mascara makes her eyelashes even thicker and fuller. Her skin is tanned, light enough to not clash with her dress, but dark enough not to go unnoticed. Said dress is pale blue, and clings to the curves of her waist before fanning out around her, a few centimetres laying on the floor of the hall. Her shoulders and back are covered by a long cloak of midnight blue which sparkles in the light from above their heads. Like the dress, some of the cloak drags along the wooden floor.

The other person sees a boy around two years older than themself. He is slightly taller, and his eyes are light blue and sparkling as they look down at the boy's soulmate. He is dressed in a suit, with a black jacket and black trousers. His tie, however, is dark blue and rests against his white shirt. His eyebrows are thin, and are the same colour as his hair, which has been gelled into a rather fancy-looking style. The light from above them alters the colour and gives it a slight ginger-y tinge. There is a gap in his right eyebrow. The two smile at each other.

"I'm Jay." the boy stutters before long. "Jay Walker."

Nya nods, and replies, "Princess Nya Smith." Now it's Jay's turn to nod, before he bows low, playing around with the Princess. Nya giggles quietly, and Jay's heart flutters as he hears the beautiful sound. The two look into each other's eyes again, staying there for a minute longer before Nya shakes herself out of the trance she feels she's been caught in since first seeing Jay.

"Please, do come meet my family." Nya smiles, and Jay nods.

"I can't think of a higher honour, except knowing that you are my soulmate." Nya's smile widens, and a deep blush creeps over her cheeks. Jay smiles too, blushing lightly. Nya turns to lead Jay up the stairs to her parents, but as she takes the first step she slips over the hem of her dress. She feels herself falling, her arms stretched out before her body, hands reaching for something to grab to stop her fall... until someone's hands hold her close to their body. Jay looks just as shocked as Nya feels, and gasps echo around the room for the second time that night as people realise what has just happened on the stairs. Nya grasps at Jay's back, and he holds her close to his chest. Both are breathing quickly and blushing deeply. Ray and Maya appear at the top of the staircase, eyebrows raised. Jay and Nya both immediately tense up and turn their heads to face the King and Queen, who look just as surprised as everyone else in the room. Maya smiles, and Ray nods before signalling to the pair of teenagers to come up to them. Jay gulps as he pulls Nya back to her feet and they grasp their soulmates' hands as they ascend the staircase together.

_At the top of the staircase_

Jay bows to Ray and Maya, who smile at the young boy before them. Jay then introduces himself to the monarchs, and they in turn share their names. Kai strolls over to the four of them and Jay bows again. Kai nods to him, and introduces himself before checking his clock again.

"Dang." he whispers, causing everyone in he huddle to look at him. "I have to go. It's nearly my time." Everyone nods, and Kai looks at Nya one last time. "Any tips before I go down there, sis?" Nya shakes her head, replying simply,

"Just be yourself." Kai nods slowly and turns to face the right-hand staircase. He then walks down the stairs, and those who have found their soulmates step off to the sides of the room. Kai enter the crowd, and Nya loses sight of him. Jay places a hand on her shoulder, and they exchange smiles again.

"He'll be fine." Jay whispers to Nya, who nods once more.

"I know." Ray then clears his throat, and the two teenage soulmates turn to face him again. Conversation turns to jokes, and Jay becomes a fountain of bad ones, making the whole group erupt into laughter. After a few minutes, Nya breaks away from the group, closely followed by Jay. Her parents then walk up the young couple and stand behind them. Nya casts her gaze over the crowd once again, and Jay wraps an arm around her waist, making her smile. Her teeth are pearls in the light of the room. Ray speaks up.

"I wonder how much longer it's going to be until Kai finds his soulmate." he jokes, looking over the staircase to his right, waiting for his son to come bounding up it with someone behind him.

"If you ask me," Nya replies, "he's already found her." Everyone else follows Nya's eyes, and they each find Kai over to the left-hand side of the room, talking to a red-headed girl in a long amber skirt.

_In the main hall, at the bottom of the stairs_

Kai finds himself, for the first time in his life, speechless as he looks at the girl in from of him. She is his soulmate, and they have just met, leaving both of them quiet and blushing slightly. Her hair is a similar shade to Kai's robes, and her amber skirt is long and flowing. It clings to her hips, and her slim legs are just visible at the ends of it. Her top is cropped and black, covered by a thin black cardigan that she wears over her shoulders. Her smile is warm and welcoming, pulling Kai in. Her eyes are different colours; her left is light brown, while her right is emerald green. After a few minutes of small talk, Kai leads Skylor, his soulmate, up towards his parents and sister. Unlike Nya, Skylor did not trip over anything going up the stairs, and the two reached the top without any incidents. Skylor curtsies and shares her name with the Royal family, shaking hands with Jay, who Nya introduces. Before even five minutes have passed, Ray and Maya step to the front of the top floor and call for everyone's attention. When every face has turned back to them, Ray speaks out to the room.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to say that both of our children have, tonight, found their soulmates!" The entire room erupts into cheers at this announcement. "We wish to thank you all for coming out here tonight, and we hope that you all found your soulmates this evening when you were supposed to. We wish you all the best of luck in life with your soulmates, and we hope you all had fun tonight. You may leave when you wish." The room bursts out into cheers again, and Jay grabs Nya by the wrist.

"Come with me," he whispers, "I've got someone I want to introduce you to." Nya smiles and nods, and together they descend the staircase to their left.

_At the bottom of the staircase_

"COLE?!" Jay keeps calling the same name over and over again. "COLE?! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Finally, a voice calls back.

"JAY! I'M OVER HERE!" Jay leads Nya over to the source of the voice. There, by the snack table in one of the corners of the hall, is a boy of Kai's age, chomping on a slice of cake from the middle of the table. Cole swallows his mouthful and taps the girl beside him on the arm. The girl lifts her head and her blue and pink hair falls over her shoulders as she turns her head in Jay's direction. Jay and Nya weave through the crowd, tightly gripping each other's hands, and stop in front of Cole. Cole grins and he and Jay perform some kind of handshake, high-fiving each other, giving fist-bumps, slapping each other's arms lightly and playfully. Jay smiles and introduces Nya to Cole, and the two smile and they shake hands. Cole then rises from his seat, in sync with the girl next to him, who Nya guesses is his soulmate, and bows. Nya blinks and nods, ducking her head. A robot with short blonde hair then walks over to the group, with another robot behind him. Jay and Cole turn their heads toward the newcomers and happily call out,

"Zane!" The boys then both run forwards and hug the robot. Zane then comes forward and bows to Nya. She bows her head again, and turns to face the other robot, who curtsies. Zane introduces himself, setting Jay into a stream of explaining who Zane was, starting with how he was a Nindroid, not just any old random robot. Kai and Skylor soon join the group, and they all get to know each other like friends. The other android who followed Zane was named PIXAL, and before long, Nya makes a new best friend. Everyone has a soulmate, and everyone is okay.

**A/N: Sorry if the story quality decreased near the end, I just had this idea and I had to get this out before it left me. I'm now really tired and... yeah. This is the end of this one-shot. I hope you enjoyed it. **


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